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[quote=Anonymous]
To the OP -- you might reconsider the idea that any size school is fine. Smaller schools where students are in smaller classes from the very start might be helpful for your son. DC has never had a class of more than 30 even as a a freshman in a "101" type of survey class. Almost immediately DC had small seminars where the professors knew every student and were aware if a student missed even one class, or was struggling, or seemed to be having issues. You can get that in certain courses even at larger universities of course, but often, not until a few years in, when the student is taking smaller classes for the major subject. Just something to keep in mind if your son would feel lost or get frustrated in very large lecture courses freshman and sophomore years.

Someone mentioned CTCL (Colleges That Change Lives) above and that's worth a look too.

Also do not be reluctant to ask, or more importantly, have your son ask, about specifics re: counseling staff and facilities. And OP, have him dig into what activities and organizations exist on campuses -- he might find himself settling in better and having a much better experience if he has truly engaging and interesting extracurricular activities like a club or other groups in which he can get involved, have fun, get a break from academics, give a sense of perspective (not everything, 24/7, is about classes), etc.

I would add: A post above makes a vast generalization about how colleges that attract "rich, elite" kids are not going to be good for your son. Apart from the fact that "rich" is relative and "elite" means different things to different people -- my kid goes to what I guess some here would call a SLAC that attracts rich, elite kids, but it also attracts a lot of kids who are neither, and is about as far from competitive and snobby as it gets. More cooperative than competitive, and since it's small, and classes are small, professors do know each student and know when something's up with that student.

Finally all of this is fine but your son should focus first on where he can get the best and most fitting -- for him-- education in the field he wants to study. He could find a gentle, highly supportive college, but if it does not have an academic program for his major that engages, interests and challenges him enough, he might end up bored and frustrated, which could lead to its own problems. [/quote]

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